Despite the Nevada cannabis industry being in existence for less than a decade, the first three or so years of the nascent industry’s already somewhat troubled life were quite eventful and even tumultuous at times. Whereas other states that recreationally legalize cannabis usually either create an entirely new regulatory body or designate a similarly small regulatory board such as the state’s alcohol commission to regulate their state’s cannabis industry, Nevada utilized an already massively existing regulatory body to regulate this new industry.
Strangely, the department selected to regulate this young industry was Ron Swanson’s least favorite, the Department of Taxation. As the department was already incredibly busy and occupied with applying taxes to Nevada’s many other very large and very taxable industries, many Nevada cannabis professionals would likely collectively agree that the Department of Taxation were uneven and distracted regulators at best and outright cumbersome and hostile at worst.
Even more problematic for Nevada cannabis business owners and professionals, the Department of Taxation had an almost comical number of serious scandals during their reign as the cannabis regulatory body. From former department directors who were instrumental in cannabis regulation design resigning from their position for holding eight different cannabis licenses, to a disturbing sexual orientation harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee that resulted in a $450,000 settlement, the scandal-ridden department that is “dedicated to the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct” was understandably not the best long-term fit for such a youthful yet potentially prosperous industry.
Luckily on July 1, 2020, the legislation of the 2019 Assembly Bill 533 came into fruition. On the third anniversary of Nevada dispensaries beginning recreational sales, the Cannabis Compliance Board was created. Finally, a regulatory body created and catered specifically for the cannabis industry was in charge. Interestingly, there were multiple lawyers from a variety of legal fields that were appointed to serve on the board. The current Chair, Adriana Guzmán Fralick, is an attorney who’s previously served with multiple other vital government departments and Hon. Michael Douglas served as Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court for eight years.
Another one of the very experienced attorneys serving on the CCB is the Vice Chair Riana Durrett. And similarly to many attorneys who rightfully go on to become illustrious lawyers in their respective field of law, Durrett wasn’t super initially interested in attending law school.
“I could tell you that I’d always been interested in justice,” Durrett explained, “but I became a lawyer because I didn’t know how else to focus my interests and skills into a career. It’s okay not to have it all figured out and I hope reading this helps law students to feel less alone when they feel like they’re the only ones that don’t have it all figured out yet.”
For both undergraduate and law school, Durrett kept it local and attended UNLV followed by the William S. Boyd School of Law, serving as Vice President and 3L Representative for the Student Bar Association and graduating with a J.D. in 2008. Because it’s a very relevant topic towards The Silver State given our massive reservation lands, Durrett completed her Capstone paper on tribal law and the various ways that tribal and both Nevada and U.S. law interact with each other. Unfortunately for Durrett, tribal law opportunities weren’t very plentiful. Prior to 2014, Durrett practiced in different yet equally important fields of law, such as criminal, family, and immigration law.
“My career took a big turn in 2014 when I was offered a small contract to track bills for a newly formed organization, the Nevada Dispensary Association (now Nevada Cannabis Association).” Durrett recalled. “The small contract with the NDA quickly expanded into an opportunity to run the organization as its Executive Director, which involved leading the cannabis industry on major issues that arose in the early years of legalization in Nevada.”
As Executive Director of the Nevada Dispensary Association for nearly six years in total, Durrett’s duties were multi-faceted and required her to metaphorically wear multiple hats. And given that she was serving as Executive Director when Nevada began recreational cannabis sales in July of 2017, one could only imagine the many complex scenarios that she and the organization faced during those uncharted times. She acted as a steadfast representative for cannabis businesses who were just initially finding their footing themselves and dealt with serious lawsuits and crises that could have either radically altered or outright derailed major sections of the Nevada cannabis industry.
“The work I did that impacted cannabis legislation and regulation was the most rewarding. It’s why I shifted my entire focus to cannabis law and policy and have pursued that focus for the past 10 years. I highly recommend law students and new lawyers get involved in legislation that they care about because you’ll learn so much and appreciate your legal background even more.”
Quite like many other esteemed legal scholars, Durrett later returned to UNLV for even further continuing education on law and policy when cannabis regulation in the state changed drastically.
“I returned to obtain the LL.M. in Gaming Law and Regulation because, when the Nevada State Legislature created the Cannabis Compliance Board in 2019 and modeled its operations and goals after the Nevada Gaming Control Board, I knew it would be important to have experience in both arenas, especially when there is integration among the two industries.”
In July of 2020, Durrett received the opportunity to serve the Nevada cannabis industry in arguably the highest regard when she was appointed by then-Governor Steve Sisolak to the newly formed Cannabis Compliance Board. Given her expertise in regulatory and legal compliance, she fulfilled the stated goal of having multiple fields of expertise, from regulatory and legal compliance to finance and accounting, on the CCB.
“My duties are similar to the other board members, including preparing for meetings and voting on various matters. I may receive more calls from the industry because each board seat is based on area of expertise, and I was appointed to fill the seat reserved for a person with industry experience.”
In what would likely be a significant far cry from anyone who once regulated cannabis through the Department of Taxation, Durrett admits that the CCB was previously a little harsh on cannabis businesses, many of whom were still in their infancy overall.
“I do think we had a period where the CCB was overly strict and punitive and that was a misguided attempt to follow the gaming model, but there have been changes in legislation that addressed that concern. We can learn from some of gaming’s successes, but in many ways the two industries are too divergent to cut and paste the gaming model onto cannabis regulation. I have a law review article pending publication that goes into depth on this topic that I will be happy to share when it is available.”
Durrett would be in strong agreement with industry professionals that the impact from the illicit cannabis market not only within state boundaries but also from neighboring states is arguably the most contributing detrimental factor towards the Nevada cannabis industry.
“There may not be a silver bullet to solving this issue,” Durrett explained, “but there are various actions that the state and local governments could take to reduce the illegal market, such as reducing restrictions on the legal market (when public health and safety are not at issue) and educating the public, including tourists, on buying from legal sources.”
Simultaneously while fulfilling her duties with the CCB, Durrett serves as the Director of UNLV’s Cannabis Policy Institute, a program created in 2023 dedicated to strengthening and promoting cannabis policy surrounding everything from business to medicine. One recent panel discussion of great importance was co-hosted with the International Gaming Institute regarding the many legal prohibitions and issues as to why the cannabis and gaming industries must be kept strictly separate as well as why cannabis license owners can’t also hold gaming licenses and vice versa.
“I serve as the Director and 10 years of first working for the industry and then serving as a Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board member have helped me develop a complex understanding of the history, laws, and policies relating to cannabis and cannabis legalization. This past year, the CPI has initiated cannabis research and policy projects, launched a speakers series, implemented a faculty affiliate program, applied for grants, educated students on cannabis law and policy, and much more.”
In strong agreement with many Nevada cannabis professionals, Durrett holds a positively hopeful view of cannabis being rescheduled and the avalanche of legal and financial opportunities that a federal rescheduling would provide.
“I hope, for the industry’s sake, that cannabis is moved federally to Schedule III, which would alleviate the IRS Code § 280E tax penalty for conducting business activities involving a Schedule I substance, under the Controlled Substances Act. This would reduce the effective tax rate for business owners. It could take years to accomplish, but it would significantly help those still in business and infuse much needed optimism and capital investments into the industry.”
Josh Kasoff can be reached at [email protected].
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